Mondi joins forces with the Ellen MacArthur foundation and UN to eliminate plastic waste and pollution

100% of plastic packaging to be made reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025

25% of plastic to be reused content by 2025

Mondi, a global leader in packaging and paper, has today become one of the first signatories of The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment which will work towards eliminating plastic pollution and creating 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable plastic packaging by 2025.

Mondi has pledged to increase investment in research and development, and drive deeper collaboration throughout its supply chain to move away from non-renewable and non-recyclable plastic. It will use its expertise in paper-based and flexible plastic packaging to enhance its product design and thereby achieve 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable plastic packaging by 2025.

Through the Global Commitment, Mondi has said it will boost the use of recycled content in its products to ensure a minimum of 25% of post-consumer waste is incorporated across all its plastic packaging by 2025.

Peter Oswald, CEO, Mondi said: “We are all well aware of the challenge facing our oceans and landfills as a result of poor waste management. But plastic should never become a waste product, it should retain its economic value. As business leaders we need to seize this opportunity to make a positive difference, not only for the world we live in today but for future generations too.”

Mondi is committed to working with all of its partners to achieve the target of 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable plastic packaging by 2025. We believe working alongside other businesses and governments is key to finding a solution for plastic waste. It is essential for us to drive innovation and broad systemic change throughout the plastics value chain.

Peter Oswald, CEO, Mondi

Dame Ellen MacArthur, Founder of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, said: “We know that cleaning up plastics from our beaches and oceans is vital, but this does not stop the tide of plastic entering the oceans each year. We need to move upstream to the source of the flow. The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment draws a line in the sand, with businesses, governments and others around the world uniting behind a clear vision for what we need to create a circular economy for plastic. This is just one step on what will be a challenging journey, but one which can lead to huge benefits for society, the economy and the environment. I encourage all businesses and governments to go further and embark on a race to the top in the creation of a circular economy for plastic. One in which this material never becomes waste or pollution.”

For over 15 years Mondi has been making sustainable paper and flexible plastic packaging solutions for forward-thinking, fast moving consumer goods brands such as Mars, Nestlé, P&G and Unilever. Mondi’s recent commitment is an important step in creating a truly circular economy.

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About Mondi

Mondi is a global leader in packaging and paper, delighting its customers and consumers with innovative and sustainable packaging and paper solutions. Mondi is fully integrated across the packaging and paper value chain - from managing forests and producing pulp, paper and plastic films, to developing and manufacturing effective industrial and consumer packaging solutions. Sustainability is embedded in everything Mondi does. In 2017, Mondi had revenues of €7.10 billion and underlying EBITDA of €1.48 billion.

The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment Vision

At the heart of the Global Commitment is a vision of a circular economy for plastic, where plastics never become waste. Each signatory formally endorses the vision and the need to work towards achieving it. It is defined by six key points:

Elimination of problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging through redesign, innovation, and new delivery models is a priority

Reuse models are applied where relevant, reducing the need for single-use packaging

All plastic packaging is 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable

All plastic packaging is reused, recycled, or composted in practice

The use of plastic is fully decoupled from the consumption of finite resources

All plastic packaging is free of hazardous chemicals, and the health, safety, and rights of all people involved are respected

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation was launched in 2010 to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. The Foundation works across key areas including insight and analysis, business and government, learning, systemic initiatives and communications. With its Knowledge Partners (Arup, IDEO, McKinsey & Company and SYSTEMIQ), the Foundation works to quantify the economic opportunity of a more circular model and to develop approaches for capturing its value. The Foundation collaborates with its Global Partners (Danone, Google, H&M, Intesa Sanpaolo, NIKE Inc., Philips, Renault, Solvay, Unilever), Core Philanthropic Funders (SUN, MAVA, players of People’s Postcode Lottery (GB)) and its CE100 network (businesses, universities, emerging innovators, governments, cities, affiliate organisations), to build capacity, explore collaboration opportunities and to develop circular business initiatives.

The New Plastics Economy

Over the past four years, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy initiative has rallied businesses and governments behind a positive vision of a circular economy for plastics. Its 2016 and 2017 New Plastics Economy reports captured worldwide headlines, revealing the financial and environmental costs of waste plastic and pollution. In the last year it has brought together 15 leading companies committed to work towards 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable plastic packaging by 2025. The Global Commitment takes this work to the next level – creating a global coalition of leaders with the power to prevent plastic pollution at the source. The initiative is supported by Wendy Schmidt as Lead Philanthropic Partner, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), MAVA Foundation, Oak Foundation, and players of People’s Postcode Lottery (GB) as Philanthropic Funders. Amcor, The Coca-Cola Company, Danone, L’Oréal, MARS, Novamont, PepsiCo, Unilever, and Veolia are the initiative’s Core Partners.

UN Environment

UN Environment is the leading global voice on the global environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. UN Environment works with governments, the private sector, civil society and with other UN entities and international organizations across the world.

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